Director's choice
by merdarkandtwisty
Summary: Kelly Gibbs died, Ellie Gibbs ran away and Tim McGee tried to commit suicide. fifteen years later Tim has just started to move on with Delilah, Ellie's marriage is starting to crack and Gibbs comes face to face with the daughter he hasn't seen for years. Past Tim/Kelly future Tim/Ellie Kelly/Ellie Twins
1. Chapter 1

A/n Tim and Ellie are the same age it's the current time frame just suspend your disbelief of ages please. Because I want you to consider both Tim and Ellie to be in their early 30's. and I want Gibbs time line not to change. Also in this story Jake's last name is Bishop

Sixteen year old Timothy McGee stared out the window of his brand new car. Flashing red hair and laughing blue eyes haunted his every memory. Dead, Kelly was dead. He took a shuddering breath on that deserted road in his brand new car. Hair the color of sunshine eyes as blue as the ocean. Ellie, Ellie had ran away, not able to take the devastation of losing her mother and twin sister. He had no way of finding her. No way of contacting her, he didn't know where she went. The car sped up and he let go crashing himself hoping to be taken from the world not wanting to live in a world where Kelly didn't live. Not wanting to live in a world where Ellie disappeared.

Eleanor Gibbs sat on a bus bound for anywhere but where she was. Her mother dead, her twin sister dead, her father off in Mexico haunting for Vengeance. The emancipation slip in her purse. It hadn't been hard to get him to sign it. Not with him so deep in despair over Kelly and mom. She shook her head. She wasn't even sure he could see her. The only thing she felt bad about as she left her childhood town was that she was leaving behind Tim. Tim the one rock she'd had but it was hard for to see Tim the boy she loved but who was always Kelly's. Now Kelly was gone. She'd never walk down the aisle or take the last name McGee like she'd planned since she was 14, and Ellie felt sick with herself for all the times she'd envied her sisters perfect love.

She wondered if her dad even knew about Tim, considered Tim. His father had been gone for so long now and Kelly was so private. She figured maybe her mother had said something in a letter but she couldn't be sure. She looked out the window at the passing land scape. World here she came, if only to outrun the ghost that were still chasing her.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs heard the crack of the gun shot. He'd hit his mark. The man responsible for Shannon and Kelly's Death was no more. It was time to go home and pick up the pieces of his shattered life. Except he didn't know how. Shannon and Kelly were dead. Ellie had left, he allowed her to be emancipated. He wanted her with him but at the same time knew he was in no place to care for his precious girl. He figured she'd go to her grandfather, to Stillwater to the past. Jackson would be better for her anyway. She was the strong one his Ellie. Always the first to do something the dare devil. Kelly was more quite more reserved. He didn't know how he could ever look at Ellie without seeing Kelly. He didn't know how Kelly could go on without her other half. It had always been Kelly and Ellie now it was just Ellie.

Three people crushed and broken tried to find their way in the messed up world. Or in the case of one tried to find his way out of the messed up world. Three people connected by death whose paths would diverge only to come together again in ways no one could see coming.

….

Tim lived he hadn't wanted to but he had, the car was totaled and he had months upon months of surgery's and therapy but he was alive. "Kelly." He whispered. Wanting to be with her where ever she was. His fingers itched to call Ellie but he couldn't one because he didn't know where she was and two because he didn't want to burden her. No he survived he didn't know why he had and she hadn't but it was what was. He'd go on he'd try to live a life without the light that was Kelly.

Ellie found herself in Stillwater briefly but she felt stifled by the small time life. She graduated from the same high school her father had decades earlier but as soon as the diploma was In her hand she kissed her grandfather and she was running again. Trying to out run the ghost of her past again. Kelly's laugh. The whispered secrets they shared. She wanted to call Tim let him know she was okay but when she did his number was disconnected and she felt a little bit more of herself die. She would survive though. She'd survive on her own. She was strong she'd do it. She had to. She had to live for Kelly who never got the chance.

Jethro Gibbs stood in the back of the Stillwater high school gym and watched his daughter graduate before slipping out. He knew she didn't want to see him. They'd only had minimal contact since she'd left two years before. He feared she'd never forgive him for running off to Mexico. He got into his truck and headed back towards DC and NCIS. He'd lost his girls. Two of them to death and the other to grief his and hers but he'd found another thing to live for his job. The one thing he could get lost in to forget all the ghost of his past.

A/N so next up we'll be at present time where the Team will meet Ellie and of course Ellie and Tim and Ellie and Gibbs will come face to face.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own NCIS

A/N so I changed the name of the story because I had two stories with similar story lines and decided to combine it. Nothing from the first chapter changed but we won't meet Ellie yet and the direction I was going to take it has changed slightly. This chapter picks up after oil and water but before gut check. so in season 12 they try to say that Jenny was on a opt with Gibbs and Franks in 92 that has to be a time line mistake because Jenny didn't meet or even know about Franks until Gibbs got hurt in Hiatus and she was a probie under Gibbs in the late 90's being in Paris in 99 Gibbs himself didn't even start at NIS until 92 Shannon and Kelly dying in 91. So I'm ignoring that season 12 if anything I figure the third from 92 would have been franks partner who we met in season 11 before she retired.

"So Leon you're saying you're wanting to retire?" the new secretary of the Navy Sarah Porter looked at the director of NCIS Leon Vance.

"Yes," Leon sat down at the desk he'd been manning for five and a half years. I thought I wanted this I petitioned hard for this job after Jenny Shepard was killed but now I am a single parent my wife hasn't even been dead a year and my children are still trying to learn how to move on without her. They need me. They need me more than I'm able to give them now."

"And what about you Leon, what do you need?"

"I need to be there for my kids. I need to have time to grieve for my wife. I need to be away from all this." He waved his arms around the office.

"Okay Leon we'll be sad to see you go but I understand. Do you have anyone in mind to fill your position?"

"Yes one of our own, in this very building."

"Oh please tell me it isn't Gibbs. He filled in a few times but that man can't do this as a full time Job he'd go crazy."

"No not Gibbs," Vance laughed but one of his yes."

"DiNozzo, I mean he's a good agent but I'm not sure how he'll handle the politics and the paperwork."

"No not DiNozzo, McGee."

"Ah yes Timothy McGee I actually had a really good conversation with him a few weeks ago. He's been a full time field agent for how long now?"

"Longer then Jenny Shepard was when she was appointed. And I know unlike Jenny or even me McGee won't use this chair to try and settle personal issues."

SecNav pursed her lips. "Yes I think he may be a good fit, Of course that will lead to Gibbs only having one agent. What with Agent David not coming back."

"He's done it before from what I hear before he brought Agent Todd onto the team long before my time."

"Agent Todd?"

"Ah that's a story for another time."

"Right so you want Agent McGee to be the new NCIS director, of course I have to sign off of this, do you think he wants it?"

"I don't rightly know if he wants it or not what I do know without a shadow of a doubt is that I will only leave this office if Tim McGee is in my spot. I trust him with this chair. I trust him with this agency and him and Gibbs get along you don't want a director that will butt heads with Gibbs. Not that Tim won't butt heads with Gibbs but that Tim will do it the right way. A person who has never been in these offices or never met Gibbs can't pull it off. I had a hard time and I'd met the man before. It took me a lot of trial and error to get it right we can't afford things like that not with people like Bena Persa out there."

"Okay I know a bit about Special agent McGee but do you have his file that I may look though?"

"Of course, I've been going through it many times over the last few days myself." Vance pulled the file out and handed it over to SecNav who opened the folder and went through it.

"Impressive degrees he's done well on Gibbs Teams and when you put him down in the subbasement." She noticed Vance cringing. "

'Yes that wasn't one of my best moves. That's what I mean about don't mess with Gibbs or his team."

"But we will be messing with Gibbs Team by taking Tim."

"Ah yes but Tim will still be a Gibbs guy through and through even as the boss and because of that will be able to tamper some of Gibbs rougher edges."

"Don't you think that will give Gibbs too much free reign?"

Vance just started to laugh. "No I think he is one of the only people who has a chance of not being steam rolled over by Gibbs. Anyone else will just be a figure head very much what Marrow ended up being in the end. Piss him off so much things start going downhill. Something that thing I myself almost saw happen."

"Okay so McGee." She scanned through the file again. "Yes I can see him doing well in the position. I'd like to talk to him now please."

"Of course." Vance nodded getting up and walking out of his office. "McGee."

"Director," Tim looked up from his computer.

"I'd like to see you in my office now."

"Of course sir." Tim looked at Gibbs who nodded. Taking the stairs he followed the director back into his office.

"Secretary Porter." He nodded to the woman sitting opposite Vance's desk.

"McGee take a seat please. The director motioned to the seat beside the secretary.

"Um okay." Tim sat down not sure what was going on. "Director?"

"McGee as you know I've had a lot going down in my personal life the last year. "

"Yes sir." Tim said thinking of the directors hospitalization and then the death of his wife along with Ziva's father and recently the death of Secretary of Navy Jarvis who had been a close friend of Director Vance's.

"With everything that has happened recently I've decided it's time for me to retire spend time with my kids get my head wrapped around the changes in my life. and that means we need to appoint a new NCIS Director."

"Sir?"

"Agent McGee if you're willing me and Secretary Porter are in agreement that you are the best person for the job."

Tim looked between the director and SecNav. He hadn't been expecting that. He swallowed. "I'm flattered but do you really think I have enough experience?" He thought of the heads he'd be going over.

"I can see you're worried about Agents DiNozzo and Gibbs but could you really see either of them in this position?"

"Well not really but it's not just them I mean there have to be more senior agents who would get the job before me."

"More senior Agents, yes but none that bring what you can to the job so Agent McGee what do you say are you ready to become the director."

"yes sir but I want to talk to my team before I do anything else."

"Of course." Leon stood up and shook McGee's hand.

"Thank you." Tim turned to the secretary. "Ma'am thanks for the opportunity."

"You're welcome agent McGee I'm sure you'll do us all proud." Tim swallowed. He hoped so he certainly hadn't seen this coming. He walked down the stairs and into the bull pen.

"Tony, Boss. Can I talk to you privately for a moment?"

"My office." Gibbs nodded towards the elevator."

"Sure." Tim agreed as both man followed him and Gibbs flipped the switch.

"Okay Tim what's going on?" Tony asked looking at his friend and then over at Gibbs thinking that maybe he knew what was going on.

"Don't look at me I have no idea" Gibbs turned to look at him. "McGee?"

"Okay I just got pulled into Vance's office to talk to him and SecNav."

"Really what did you do Mcscrewup." Tony quipped.

"Nothing thank you for that Tony."

"Well what did they want?" Gibbs prodded.

"Vance wants to retire, him and Secretary Porter have asked me to become the new Director of NCIS"

The other two men looked at him wide eyed. "Director of NCIS Tony breathed that's… That's huge."

"I know." Tim said still trying to wrap his own mind around it. "The thing is though I said I'd do it but I needed to talk to you two first.

"Tim that's amazing. You'll make a great director." Gibbs said.

"Really?" Tim looked between the two of them. "You're not mad?"

"Mad hah no." Tony snorted you get to deal with the headache that is the political bullshit."

"What he said. And at least with you as boss you know how we work. Better then some stranger coming in here."

All three of them thought about what it was like when Vance first showed up.

"Okay then, thanks you guys. This will mean that you'll need to find a few new agents though Gibbs. Hold off on looking for a few days though I have a few things up my sleeve." Tim started the elevator again and walked off Gibbs and Tony looking after him. NCIS was about to go through some changes.


End file.
